Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Dominion Energy (NYSE:D)

Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 10,247 call options on the company. This is an increase of 243% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,985 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Dominion Energy in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Dominion Energy in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Dominion Energy from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Dominion Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.58.

Institutional Trading of Dominion Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Dominion Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Dominion Energy by 16.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dominion Energy by 39.4% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 1,678 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its position in Dominion Energy by 27.8% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 6,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Dominion Energy by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 232,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,144,000 after acquiring an additional 15,790 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.04% of the company’s stock.

Dominion Energy Price Performance

Dominion Energy stock traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,118,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,694,465. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.58. Dominion Energy has a fifty-two week low of $45.99 and a fifty-two week high of $61.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. Dominion Energy had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 16.22%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Dominion Energy will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Dominion Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.6675 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. Dominion Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.89%.

About Dominion Energy

Dominion Energy, Inc produces and distributes energy in the United States. It operates through three operating segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Energy. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.8 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina.